Vandals upend No. 2 seed Montana State, reach Big Sky Tournament semifinals

MEN'S BASKETBALL

Idaho 78, Montana State 74

BOISE — Biko Johnson had 19 points and Isaiah Brickner scored 15 — all in the second half — to propel Idaho to a 78-74 victory over No. 2 seed Montana State on Sunday night in a Big Sky Conference Tournament quarterfinal at Idaho Central Arena. 

No. 7 Idaho (19-14) moves on to today's 8:30 p.m. PDT semifinal, where it will play the winner of a quarterfinals matchup between No. 3 seed Eastern Washington and No. 6 Weber State. 

It’s the first time Idaho has reached the semifinals of the conference tournament since the 1993 and 1994 Big Sky tournaments. 

Johnson made 7 of 12 shots, including his lone 3-pointer with just over 1 minute left to give the Vandals a five-point lead. Johnson also had five rebounds and four assists. Brickner missed all three of his first-half shots before sinking 6 of 8 after the break. He had seven rebounds and blocked a shot. Jackson Rasmussen scored 11. 

“Extremely proud of this group,” third-year Idaho coach Alex Pribble said. “We’ve been building something throughout the year, where we’ve learned some very difficult lessons, facing adversity throughout the year. I think the guys are relying on those lessons to respond the right way in tough moments and find big, important wins.” 

Kolton Mitchell, a redshirt sophomore from Lake City in his second game back after missing three games with a back injury, finished with four points for Idaho in limited (21) minutes. 

Jeremiah Davis hit four 3-pointers and scored 22 to lead the Bobcats (18-14), who split two games with Idaho during the regular season. Christian King connected three times from distance and scored 21. Jed Miller added 18 points. 

Idaho scored 54 of its points in the paint. 

“To be mentally tough enough to withstand some of their runs, and physically tough enough to dominate the paint like we did, that’s the identity we’re trying to create.” 

Davis and King both scored 12 points in the first half and Miller added 10 as Montana State took a 40-34 lead into the break. Brickner scored in the paint to give Idaho a 63-61 lead and the Vandals never trailed over the final five minutes. 

IDAHO (19-14)

Rasmussen 5-7 0-0 11, Rowbury 3-4 0-2 6, Brickner 6-11 3-5 15, Johnson 7-12 4-5 19, Mitchell 1-6 2-2 4, Klapper 4-6 3-4 11, Blassingame 3-3 0-0 8, Joba 1-4 0-0 2, Payne 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 31-55 12-18 78. 

MONTANA STATE (18-14)

Hodges 0-3 0-0 0, King 9-13 0-0 21, Davis 9-10 0-0 22, McMahon 3-12 1-2 8, Miller 6-15 4-5 18, Keene 1-2 0-0 3, Steppe 1-7 0-2 2, Amunrud 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 29-65 5-9 74. 

Halftime_Montana State 40-36. 3-Point Goals_Idaho 4-16 (Blassingame 2-2, Rasmussen 1-1, Johnson 1-5, Klapper 0-1, Mitchell 0-1, Payne 0-1, Rowbury 0-1, Brickner 0-2, Joba 0-2), Montana State 11-24 (Davis 4-5, King 3-5, Miller 2-7, Keene 1-2, McMahon 1-2, Steppe 0-3). Fouled Out_Keene. Rebounds — Idaho 28 (Brickner 7), Montana State 28 (Davis 6). Assists — Idaho 9 (Johnson 4), Montana State 12 (Steppe 4). Total Fouls — Idaho 9, Montana State 18. 

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Idaho 66, Weber State 52 

BOISE — Kyra Gardner had 14 points and eight steals, and the top-seeded Vandals advanced to the semifinals for the first time since 2022 with the victory over the ninth-seeded Wildcats at Idaho Central Arena. 

Ana Pinheiro had 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Hope Hassman had 14 points and six assists for Idaho (27-5), which won its 16th straight game — a school record during the NCAA era. 

Idaho will play today at 11 a.m. PST against No. 5 Sacramento State. 

Weber State finished (11-22).